Monday, August 18, 2014

1970's PINARELLO CATALOG

 Early mid seventies Pinarello catalog.







 And here I was, thinking they only came out in Red..

Here is my one, taken on yesterday's 
Sunday ride

Thursday, August 14, 2014

WHAT CAR IS THAT BIKE????

Ok, so the other day, just as I was
just putting the finishing touches on
My mate Max strolls past and says "you keeping this one?"
with a slight disdain in his voice.
Yes I am, I quickly shot back in defense,
I was a little on the defensive, as you would be.
"Kind of dweeby don't you think?" he replied, just as as quickly.

Well yes I had to admit
  that this was kind of true I guess, but.....
and it was at this point, that I had to explain to Max
my theory of "What car is that Bike?", which simply
put, works as follows....
Nearly all bikes of character have an equivalent
car, usually from the same period, country and purpose.
But these rules don't always apply, and can broken
by passionate and persuasive argument.

So using this theory, I will explain why the
Raleigh Competition MK II model DL 165
is the Sunbeam Rapier Fastback.
First of all the the Sunbeam Rapier wasn't
really a super cool car to have at the time, however
it was cooler than an Avenger (which wasn't hard).
The Competition probably wasn't all that cool either
in it's time, but was way better, than say a Carlton Corsa. 


They where both marketed at a buyers that wanted
a sporty,quick,fairly well balanced machine, with European flair,
that could be used everyday without to much hassle, 
and maybe even help to pull the ladies.

Both are products of the late sixties-mid seventies.

 Lastly both these machines have aged well, and I 
think both could now be considered quite cool ....
well in the right company that is.

So if anybody has their own 
"What car is that Bike?", send me your 
photos and reasons why they work, and I will
post them on the blog.
The only requirement is that you have to 
own an example of the bike.

adrian@theflyingwheel.com